Thanks to a LIVE sighting by s meger and his wife, we now have photographic evidence of the SIX Sequestered teams traveling on their flight Bangkok to Seoul on Dec 4th.

The two of them are very savvy TAR fans, very familiar with the race, and had no trouble recognizing that they were seeing TAR, that this was an "AllStar" type season, and that these teams "heading home" meant that these were eliminated teams.

They saw Globetrotters, Margie and Luke, Joey and Meghan, Mark and Mallory, John and Jessica, and the Twinnies.

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We did see the six teams board the plane and realize that some of them must have already been eliminated as they were returning to the states. We are very excited to see this season as it was so cool seeing them in person

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We think perhaps there were production people with them when they got off the plane but of course no one we recognized, but we knew they were not racers. Also we were surprised that the Mallory and Mark had become a team - that would have been tricky not knowing each other well to have that kind of experience.

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S happened to walk by them when they were having lunch and recognized Luke's voice as someone he had heard and when he looked over the globe trotters were with them (Margie and Luke), dead give away. We then saw them all as they boarded the plane.

Many thanks to them both for sharing their photos and story with us, describing what they saw, and loving the experience!

Please remember if these photos are used elsewhere that the credit and copyright remain the property of s meger.

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The Flight:

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"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens."Phil Keoghan

7.47pm: Margie and Luke. I was on transit and had just arrived by bus from the Budget Terminal at 7.35pm, and they were the first team I saw. They give a confessional. Well Margie gives a confessional. Couldn't hear what they were saying. Checkered shirt and red T-shirt are producer types, you'll see them again later.

Around 8.10pm: I'm at the Jetstar counter at check-in row M and quite a few others recognise Luke/Margie, yelling "I'm a fan!" and "Good luck!" while bad-surreptitiously taking photos on their phones. The cameraman and soundman don't chase them off, which struck me as weird.

Around 8.20pm: Brendon/Rachel run in and Rachel does her frantic thing: "Where's Singapore Airlines?! They told us it was check-in row M!" (It was actually check-in row L.) A worker at Jetstar points them the right way and they run over. (It was the same check-in island, just on the other side.) Luke chides: "Don't help them!"

11.17pm: It took a while to get through customs and find my way to the right gate, but here's red T-shirt production guy again at the gate to the direct Colombo flight.

That's a really long gap before I finally decided to go through customs, huh? Did I just go to McDonald's and chill while the race was happening all around me?

Not really. I was witnessing (and inadvertently contributing to) the end of Margie and Luke.

I'd promised Petr the cameraman I wasn't like the other rabid fans, tweeting and Facebooking everything in real time. You could tell how he was merely tolerating my presence, hating me secretly on the inside. "I know you're on Facebook right now," he chided at one point. (I know Petr is spelled with a few invisible vowels because I'm a creepy stalker. Sorry Petr.)

I decided to wait a while before spilling the beans. Choosing to tell the rest of the story now because:1. It's Christmas and maybe this could count as a present. Or maybe just a story to keep you guys entertained.2. The CBS execs are probably on holiday right now and won't care enough now to hate me.3. The order of the first six boots is confirmed and public, and the placings of the Final Five have been spoiled by Cleo.4. They've probably done the editing for Episode 5 by now, so either I'm in or not in the episode.

Back to the story. So I was connecting through Kuala Lumpur and already had tickets on a flight home the next morning, but when I heard the teams were in Malaysia and calculated (with Jobby's help) when they were likely to leave, I decided to stay at the airport that night instead of heading to a hotel, just to see if I got lucky.

Margie/Luke was indeed the first team I saw, and the only one I saw for a while. They were at Malaysia Airlines trying to get tickets, but could only get on standby. Another direct flight leaving the next morning was full too. I would have bolted and kept looking for options, but Margie stopped to give an interview. (Maybe Petr made her stop and answer his questions.) Precious minutes ticking.

Peach has a policy of non-intervention, but:1. I'm not Peach.2. She broke her own policy by helping Kaylani.3. I wanted to be on TV.4. Margie/Luke were in trouble and I could help.

Knowing yelling anything at Luke would... fall on deaf ears, I turned to what came to mind next. "Mrs Adams!" I shouted. Faux pas: Margie had remarried a long while back and now goes by Mrs O'Donnell. She corrected me later on camera. They came to me before Petr and Jerry the soundman followed and I flashed Luke a quick "RFF" in sign language. (Hope I did it right and didn't silently call him a "little bitch".)

"Hi, sorry for scaring you. Do you guys want some help? I have a laptop with me we can use to look up flights."

Margie took up the offer while Luke looked confused. Petr asked Margie in his interview voice, "What's happening here? Who is this?" I searched for an excuse, as did Margie. "We just met this gentleman who said he could help us."

I gave Margie and Luke the equivalent of $15 to get themselves a guidebook, partly because I wanted to help and partly because that'd help me find out where they were going. Luke came back with a Sri Lanka Lonely Planet.

With the passing of Apskip, I am now the resident flight-searcher of RFF (and by extension the TAR spoiling world), so I pulled up an option via Singapore arriving at 12.15am, 1h15 before the direct flight for which they were on standby. The second leg didn't have the required four seats (Margie/Luke/Petr/Jerry), so I found another connection, Emirates via Singapore arriving at 1.40am. Knowing full well that there was going to be a bunching in Sri Lanka, all we had to do was to get them into Colombo before sunrise. It was a strange set-up for a flight; usually they'd release them for a morning arrival. But KL was a last-minute leg replacing something else, so we've got to anticipate some weirdness.

Emirates had the tickets and we were ready to book. The problem: the website requires the input of an email, and Petr wouldn't allow it. "What if I use my own email?" I offered. Petr said no. How the hell are you supposed to book things online without an email? Tried Travelocity, TAR's favourite online travel agent. Required an email too. What the hell? I'd just watched an episode where Leo/Jamal were using Travelocity to get from Vienna to Abu Dhabi. (Turns out they didn't book it on the website, and went to an airline counter to buy the tickets.) All the product placement on the show is fake.

So the spoiler earlier that evening that everyone ended up ignoring? Was legit. It was indeed a travel agent where teams were directed to go buy tickets. Margie said they tried looking for it, but the taxi got lost. (It's not that obscure a location, their driver sucked.) They gave up and decided to head straight to the airport. Big mistake.

Margie asked if I had seen anyone else. Negative. I counter-asked if they were ahead of the pack. "No, we're dead last."

The 9.25pm Jetstar flight to Singapore was leaving soon, and Margie refused to chance it at Singapore's Changi Airport without a ticket already to Colombo. (New rules dictate that teams may only buy one set of tickets to their destination, and may not change unless something happens beyond their control.) We begged the Jetstar folks to hold tickets for them to Singapore (we had fifteen minutes before ticketing closed) while we tried to find a way to buy the Emirates tickets. Their counter didn't open until 10.10pm - too late. We tried calling the travel agency, but we didn't have a phone around. (I didn't have a Malaysia calling card with me and couldn't help.) To add to all the mayhem there was no wi-fi at the Jetstar counter, so we had to run around the terminal like idiots searching for an internet signal.

I asked Margie if she would try heading to Singapore, and if they couldn't catch the Emirates flight they could double back to Kuala Lumpur later that night to catch a flight the next morning. (It wouldn't hurt to try!) She said the rules didn't allow for that. Darned rules. Luke meanwhile was... not being incredibly useful.

The flight was closing... Margie was panicking... And then Petr helpfully added that they needed at least an hour to go through customs with their cameras. Margie was deflated. She gave up on the Jetstar-Emirates itinerary.

Back to Malaysia Airlines where I tried looking for more flights. There was a feasible route via Chennai arriving at 2.10am, but they only had two seats available. It wasn't about Margie and Luke now, I just wanted to find a flight to prove my prowess! Luke was in give-up mode, and didn't do much with the laptop I offered him. (Luke, I know you're reading this. From a friend to another, you give up too easily! Man up a little!)

A volleying rally ensued, me at the counter with two laptops and a smartphone (one on flightstats.com, one on Expedia, one on Travelocity), yelling out airport codes to the check-in lady two counters down while she replied with how many seats were available on each: "MAA at 10.15pm?!" "COK at 10.25pm?!" "TRZ at 10.30pm?!" Petr swung his camera left and right. It'd look fantastic if the shot made it onto the show. Full, full, full. I put together one or two three-leg itineraries, but Margie turned them down. "It's too dangerous."

All the options were exhausted. We sat down in front of Malaysian Airlines waiting for standby seats to open up. I chatted a little bit with Margie, attempted a conversation on Microsoft Notepad with Luke, and even tried to talk to likes-to-keep-to-himself Petr. Petr's a really cool guy. He climbed Everest and all! (Well 3/4 of it. But that's still cool.) Petr and Jerry eventually left to get a burger or something, but Margie said she couldn't reveal most stuff because *pointing to her chest* "I've got a microphone here picking up everything..." I ended up complaining to her about the lacklustre route and the crappy way they put together the KL leg at the last minute. She agreed, but noted that "we had fun." I reminded her that Luke hated China.

Margie and I did a little research onto where they were going once in Colombo. Find a "sil reddha" (probably a typo, a "silk reddha" perhaps) at Mulagandakuti Viharaya Welisara, then bring it to Gangaramaya Temple for a blessing from a monk. We circled both locations in the Lonely Planet. (The first location was hard to find, even online, but I got an approximate location.)

Malaysian Airlines finally beckoned for Margie and Luke. They were sent to the airline office to speak to the "boss," who got into a tiff with Petr over him filming them in the office. Barred outside the room (but with the airline lady not knowing they had hidden microphones), Petr shot the scene from behind the glass window and hiding behind some potted plants. Jerry didn't have quite as much work. He put on his headphones and waited outside the office, listening to their every word.

Half an hour ensued. The result: nothing. The best flight that remained was another standby flight leaving the next morning getting in at 9.45am. But trying to get on that flight means giving up on the sure option, which was an AirAsia flight leaving even later, from a different terminal (15min away by bus), arriving at 10.10am. Margie decided to play it safe, and I taught them how to get to the Budget Terminal. (I apologised to Petr and Jerry for making them sleep in that grungy terminal. The main terminal's much, much nicer.)

I reminded Margie that the last time TAR went to Sri Lanka, it was bunch after bunch after bunch. After hugs and a farewell shot on Petr's camera, I went through immigration to find the other teams.

PS. The AirAsia flight was delayed the next day, arriving only at 11.34am. They were so screwed.

PPS. Hindsight 20/20. What could I have done to save them? Force them on the Jetstar flight, get their credit card details, then book their Emirates tickets from Singapore to Colombo while they were in the air. Petr wouldn't have been around to enforce the no-email rule, and Margie/Luke would have been able to pick up their tickets once in Singapore. Oh well. If I couldn't save them, I don't think many people could have.

PPPS. Holy crap. I wrote this much?

« Last Edit: December 23, 2013, 10:38:34 AM by Neobie »

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Found out that Neobie in Chinese means "f*king awesome"! No, really. Look it up!

It was a crazy day for me as well, with the fake Singapore spoilers which sprung up of no where (thank you Puppet for going down to those locations in Singapore personally) and coordinating with Neobie to make a bet on whether or not teams are still in their hotel or have already check-out (we found out eventually with a little detective work that they are still in KL). At one point Neobie was like, SO SHOULD I STAY IN SINGAPORE?

The most devastating feeling was knowing that you couldn't help a TAR team you really like. None of the options that I searched through flight stats and help from Chateau was useful (already found by Neobie anyway) because of all the production rules that Neobie already listed above. It was just a really depressing few hours as option after option was closed on Margie and Luke. And knowing that Margie and Luke was potentially 10-12 hours behind all the other teams, I literally couldn't sleep that night and worst of all, for the next few days I was seriously hoping for some miracle to happen.. but no, Margie and Luke wasn't spotted anywhere. My heart sank.

Thanks Neobie once again for relieving those moments! <3

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"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

That's an amazing story, Neobie! Even in my dreams of encountering TAR filming I didn't get that involved.

I wouldn't feel too bad about their elimination. It sounds like they should have tried harder to find the travel agent. They probably should have switched taxis when the first one couldn't find the place. Once they were at the airport, I suspect no one could have done more than you did. The rules and their reluctance to take chances did them in.

They probably should have switched taxis when the first one couldn't find the place.

Or insisted on going to the travel agency. Making their way straight to the airport, of course no thanks to the cab driver who got lost, ended the race for them. Per Neobie, it was about an hour away from the airport and when it became clear that as they arrived to the airport that the counters do not open till later, there was no way that they could back track back to the travel agency I think.

Not to forget that their flight even got delayed by more than 30 minutes the very next day.

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"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

They probably should have switched taxis when the first one couldn't find the place.

Or insisted on going to the travel agency. Making their way straight to the airport, of course no thanks to the cab driver who got lost, ended the race for them. Per Neobie, it was about an hour away from the airport and when it became clear that as they arrived to the airport that the counters do not open till later, there was no way that they could back track back to the travel agency I think.

Not to forget that their flight even got delayed by more than 30 minutes the very next day.

I think they should have just switched taxis and found one that really knew where the travel agency was! Going straight to the airport seems to have been the one move that did them in.

They probably should have switched taxis when the first one couldn't find the place.

Or insisted on going to the travel agency. Making their way straight to the airport, of course no thanks to the cab driver who got lost, ended the race for them. Per Neobie, it was about an hour away from the airport and when it became clear that as they arrived to the airport that the counters do not open till later, there was no way that they could back track back to the travel agency I think.

Not to forget that their flight even got delayed by more than 30 minutes the very next day.

I think they should have just switched taxis and found one that really knew where the travel agency was! Going straight to the airport seems to have been the one move that did them in.

That's what I meant. If teams were given instructions to go to a particular travel agency to pick up tickets and Margie and Luke's taxi driver couldn't find it, then they should have paid their taxi driver and found another one that knew where the travel agency was. There were undoubtedly reasons why they were instructed to go to that travel agency. Gambling on finding a flight at an airport an hour drive away was the fatal mistake. However, if the travel agency had closed while they were lost, then Margie and Luke probably didn't have a choice, though it might have still been smarter to find another travel agency before going to the airport.

I don't think they were restricted to that one travel agency. But they were given the name and address in the additional information. No telephone numbers though. (They definitely arranged for that one travel agency to stay open late for the teams.)Triways Travel Network20 Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur

Also, unless they stopped printing "Caution: U-Turn ahead" in the first clue of the leg, there was no U-Turn in the first Sri Lanka leg.

Didn't get a very good look at the additional information, but most of it was a list of airlines and connecting countries teams couldn't use. I was a little angry Scoot (a Singapore Airlines subsidiary) was on the same list as Biman Bangladesh Airlines!

Feel free to ask any questions on Analysis and Speculation, and I'll answer them all here in a few days?

Again, thanks to Jobby, Puppet, Peach, and all the others Jobby contacted who helped that night!

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Found out that Neobie in Chinese means "f*king awesome"! No, really. Look it up!

In TAR terms, I always call these "midnight travel agencies," no matter the time of day that TPTB make use of them. Another good example was the travel agency used in Arusha in TAR20, but WRP has used them extensively in the past. It always seems like once or twice a race that this occurs.

Decades ago when I was in grad school, I worked part time at a travel agency and I am fairly knowledgeable of the procedures used at travel agencies. The owners were friends of mine and I worked there mainly to have access to FAM trips. But in the early days of TAR, it always intrigued me why TAR used "midnight travel agencies." One of the keys to one of these arrangements is when Phil says that flights are booked for teams, but they can change if they find a better flight combination.

Over time a pattern seemed to emerge. WRP seems to use them when there are very limited flights going to or flying out of what I call "end of the line" destinations. It might be a result of the "haj" fiasco from TAR11. WRP has a very tight production schedule. So how does WRP assure itself that all the teams will show up when they have local filming crews on the pay clock?

Anyway, over time I have come to believe that WPR works with a local "midnight travel agency" to block a certain number of seats on particular flights. This is essentially reserving a seat without a name attached to the reservation. Travel agencies can do it, individuals cannot. Also the particular travel agency doesn't really have to stay open late. Production could tell the travel agency that teams will be released at 1 am and teams will all arrive within a certain time frame. Then the travel agency could close, go home or whatever, and then be back ready for teams to arrive after 1 am.

In this case, the inducement for the travel agency to agree is the amount of revenue. 8 teams X 4 tickets per team is a lot of money to the agency. Add in a few production minders and it gets even more lucrative.

In the case of Margie and Luke, what could they have done? "If" my hypothesis is true, they could have gotten on the standby list at the airport for the flight everyone else was on and probably got on the flight when the travel agency returned the 4 unbooked seats to the airline. That would have taken guts. They would have had to pass up those earlier flights to Singapore. In race mode with adrenaline flowing, patience is not likely possibility.

I wouldn't normally give much weight to a tweet like this, but the guy tweeting it is a media insider. He's a Vice President at Cumulus Media, one of the largest radio station chains in the US with ownership of 460 stations. He also has his own business that consults with radio stations about their programming etc. He's no doubt meeting with Caroline and Jennifer because they are promoting the have record they released a few days ago. They may have said something to him about TAR 24 to try and boost their record's chances. Or he may just be making a meaningless comment. I wouldn't put too much weight on it, but it was an interesting tweet.

"But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of timeHoney, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the timeI've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlinedI check it once, then I check it twice (oh)"

I wouldn't normally give much weight to a tweet like this, but the guy tweeting it is a media insider. He's a Vice President at Cumulus Media, one of the largest radio station chains in the US with ownership of 460 stations. He also has his own business that consults with radio stations about their programming etc. He's no doubt meeting with Caroline and Jennifer because they are promoting the have record they released a few days ago. They may have said something to him about TAR 24 to try and boost their record's chances. Or he may just be making a meaningless comment. I wouldn't put too much weight on it, but it was an interesting tweet.